I took out insurance with direct line and every year it increased until we was paying £26.90 monthly - we only ever claimed for a small amount when my dog was diagnosed with a heart murmer.
In May he stopped eating and drinking and we had to rush him to the out of hours vets. He had to be put to sleep 2 days later as there was nothing they could do.
It took Direct Line 9 weeks to send a cheque
They have deducted £104 from the hospital fees as £35 is apparently reasonable per £24 hours - it doesnt state this in their policy but they said I was told this over the phone a few months earlier when I rang for a claim form for his heart murmer
Basically if you have insurance, you either have to watch your dog suffering and wait for the normal vets to open or expect to pay yourself.
Direct line didnt cover euthanasia either. I would never ever use them again